I have to confess that I took the coward's way out and went with a big vendor, Home Depot, that sells the Feather River Doors. Even though they are kind of limited on choices, I figured that they would be trustworthy. We had our counter tops done in granite and all went smoothly.

Well, let's just say that this has been quite an experience.

We ordered the pantry doors almost three months ago, in the first week of October, hoping to have them ready by Thanksgiving. We made sure to have a Home Depot installer come and measure it first. The first time the doors came, the size was wrong. Thank goodness the installer realized it when he went to pick them up. Hey things happen, we gave them the benefit of the doubt.

Waited for weeks again. Meanwhile all my pantry stuff is on the floor because my hubby decided to paint the inside of the pantry and make it glow. After all, how much longer could it possibly take?Thanksgiving came and went. Now its December 24th.
The doors finally came. As the installation was almost done we decided to see how it was going and saw that there were dents on the left one!

When we pointed it out to the HD installer he says "yes, I noticed it when I picked it up."

So he sends a photo to the Home Depot associate, which by the way has been with us throughout the whole ordeal and has been very kind. The associate says that they now have to do a claim. There would be more waiting.

By now we had lost faith and I decided to contact Feather River Doors directly.
They have a chat service. When I explained what happened they said, "Sorry about sending wrong size however it is now Home Depot's problem. They have 24 hours to tell us if there is anything wrong." She cheerfully gives me a warranty phone number for me to call and pretty much sent me on my way.

I wonder why the quote "Up the river without a paddle" came to my mind?

What holidays we have had. And all for choosing the "safe way!" Oh vey.
Again, buyer beware. I will keep you up to date to see what happens next with our purchase, which by the way we have already paid.

Update:
A reader pointed out that the hole that door came with are not appropriate for an inside door, as they don't need to be locked, they come with a latch on top, they just need "dummy knobs." Sure enough the lock we were told to buy does not fit this door. Could it be that these doors were used before? Will keep you posted. Let's see what 2015 brings. 1/19/2015 Still waiting for new doors.

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Etched Glass Shattered - Spontaneously

Posted by RemodelBob on 03/30/2011

Received three doors from Home Depot, all in good condition, and I must emphasize, apparently good workmanship, at least from an esthetic standpoint. I installed 2 of them as pocket doors and all was fine for about 2 years. The door was never opened or closed for 6 months, when I began hearing a "tinkling" noise in the wall, on and off, for a couple weeks (I thought it was a cricket trapped in the wall). Pulled door out one day afterward, and YIKES! the glass was shattered - all crackly like a windshield in a car accident (see photo). No obstruction or catching inside the wall (door moved perfectly smooth); nobody anywhere near that door for months (it was fine last time I looked). Unfortunately, this occurred 2 years after the door was installed/purchased. There appeared to be an "origin" to this process emanating from the surrounding the frame. The remainder of the glass just shattered uniformly throughout, but fortunately, stayed in place. Big mystery to me is how did this happen??? Heck, here's a 300 dollar door that only lasted two years. Far as I can tell...this occurred spontaneously, and (for lack of any other explanation) probably related to the way the glass panel was installed - (maybe a stress point, heretofore not stressed enough to initiate the break)..??? Whole point of this, is just to see if anybody else has had this problem. I'm (reluctantly) going to eat the cost of a replacement - and the hassle of finishing a new one - hopefully it'll match - this is one of a pair!). But a neighbor with experience with glass doors and windows said it probably was due to stress created in installation of the door glass and the surrounding moulding....but, who knows? Question is: Has anybody else had this problem (this glass was the etched cube design)?? FYI: Home Depot guys didn't want to be bothered with this issue - (bet if I had 42 double EE's and wearing Daisy Dukes, they'd a bent over backwards - but that's another issue).

Company Response 03/30/2011:Hi,

This is Bobbi from Feather River Door Customer Service. We're sorry to hear about this and would like to assist in some resolution. Please contact us at email@featherriverdoor.com. We hope to hear from you.

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Door does not seal within its frame lets light and air through

Posted by dickey on 05/31/2010

TACOMA,, WASHINGTON -- Door was not assembled flush within the frame it was attached to. This is a prehung door that is junk. It is nice looking but whatever I do I cannot get it to seal because it is so skewed within the frame it was built. The company did send out a service person who could not figure out the problem but said it was installed properly which I already knew.

He contacted Feather River door and they sent me out a new wider seal to install where the original thinner seal was installed. Now it is so tight in areas that I have more light coming through the door and its frame on the top and side of the door. You need to look at this door very well before installation. You can see a lot of light (air) when the sun is directly on the door. Do yourself a favor and look real good if you decide on a Feather River door.

The door was installed in September 2008. I have been talking to them since early 2009. My last response from the company customer service manager (March 2010) was to call the installer to fix the problem. I will need to buy another door before I go through another winter.

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These doors peel badly

Posted by JeffPA on 05/01/2011

TACOMA, WASHINGTON -- My townhouse association bought 200 of the fiberglass doors and on almost every one the varnish coating on the outside surface began peeling off within 1 year, especially on doors exposed to the sun. If you follow the refinishing procedure as prescribed by the manufacturer, your door will, never look good again. Also, we had several doors that had the glass blown out during a recent wind storm. If you are interested in low maintenance and security, do not buy this door.

Company Response 05/18/2011:Hi,

This is Bobbi from Feather River Door Customer Service. I'm sorry to hear about your experience. Please contact us at email@featherriverdoor.com. We hope to hear from you.

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Failure To Stand Behind Their Products

Posted by Martin on 03/27/2014

Rating: 1/51

TACOMA, WASHINGTON -- I purchased Feather River Exterior Doors through Home Depot in BenSalem, PA based on the recommendation of the sales person in May 2011. Since I was having a great deal of renovations done on my home at the time rather than pay Home Depot to install them I had my contractor do the installation. When he unwrapped the doors that were delivered he noticed that the brick molding on one side was broken. Then he noticed that the doors were scratched and the finish was not even. But at this point they had already removed the existing doors so we had no alternative but to install them.

I contacted Home Depot and Feather River and sent in pictures. They offered to credit me 10% or replace the slaps. I unfortunately chose to have them replaced. The replacement was done by Home Depot, I thought, but now I am told that it was done by a company that handles the warranty inspections UTS. I noticed that my doors wouldn't stay locked and thinking nothing of it I adjusted the keeper on the lock and got it to stay locked. This was my second error. Because I kept looking and I could see the outside between my doors and they never seemed fully closed.

After suffering through this horrible winter and feeling the air just flowing in from the outside I put a request into the Customer Service Department to have someone check the doors. A representative from UTS came out and told us that the installation was out by 1/4" on the side of the stationary door and there was a bump in the threshold of the operating door which is why my sweepers kept having to be replaced. And he also said the operating door was bowed by 1/8".

Feather River now says that there is an installation problem so the warranty on the doors is voided. When I asked why the person that installed the new slabs, by the way he dropped the operating door during the installation, I was told he was there to install them not inspect them.

I have now hired an independent contractor to inspect the doors and correct them if needed. I am also going to post this on every blog site I can to warn other unsuspecting consumers of this shoddy product. It looks good but is not good quality.

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Good Experience, So Far So Good, Lots Of Compliments

Posted by Bill on 07/17/2013

Rating: 5/51

TRUSSVILLE, ALABAMA -- My contractor recommended the Feather River brand door. We chose the Chocolate Mahogany Woodgrain Home Depot SKU#0000-806-449, Slab Only. No frame as it was a replacement for our old wood door. My entry way gets lots of rain, and lots of sun from the West. The only surprise I had was Home Depot did not carry any of the doors in stock or any color samples. They only carried Masonite doors. Feather River was Special Order only. My contractor contacted Feather River and they sent samples to him. I did not like the looks nor finish of the Masonite doors compared to the fiberglass samples from Feather River.

After two weeks as promised the door arrived for pick up. I removed the door from the carton in the store and inspected it. The finish was truly amazing. It looks like real Mahogany. Heavy like a wood door. The contractor asked me to order it not pre drilled for entry handle or lock. It came pre milled for hinges. It also came with weather strip on the bottom of the door.

My contractor said he had installed Feather River doors before but this particular door was really striking and the finish amazed him. He did have to router for new hinges as he had suspected due to a long shot of matching up to the 18 year old wood door.

The door has been up for a few months now and still appears to be excellent. We have had many compliments on the door and no one can believe it is fiberglass.

My warranty states "Lifetime". I am not sure why some people that has rated the doors indicate the warranty has changed to one year. If you have a paper in your possession, and receipt of purchase they can't change the warranty on you. Keep pressing if they try! I have had this experience with other products. Having my warranty paper that came with the unit and the sales receipt has made me a winner every time.

It is my opinion part of the issues we.... consumers have is not having a product installed and checked by a professional. Someone that is experienced as my installer was and someone that has a relationship with the seller, in my case Home Depot. I believe if there is a problem going forward my contractor will be able to help me get it resolved as he has a personal relationship with the seller he buys a lot of remodeling material from on an annual basis and has personal relationships with the manager and store specialists.

I would order another Feather River door for another entryway if I need one. I know folks typically only write a review if they have a problem but I like to do both, report bad and good experiences.

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Worst Customer Service and Manufacturing

Posted by Krferris552 on 12/31/2014

Rating: 1/51

TACOMA, WASHINGTON -- I purchased 3 doors from Home Depot, two of which are Feather River and a storm door from a different vendor. The storm door arrived at the store on the due date and I was under the impression that the 2 entry doors would be in on their due date. Boy was I ever wrong!

It is now 2 weeks past the date that the doors were to be installed, not shipped to the store. In this time, the entry doors have been delayed over and over. 13 days ago, I went into Home Depot and had the millwork call to get a status update, which he was told by the mill that they would be shipping in 5 days, arriving at the store 3 days later. That date came and went, the doors never shipped. It was then moved back to today for shipping, and they were again postponed.

The funny thing about my experience, until I got a manager at Home Depot involved, one party was blaming the other. I do believe the manager at Home Depot is now doing the right thing, when will Feather River take accountability for their complete inept process and do the right thing. I will not cancel my order now, because I am not going to pay the restocking fee, nor do I want to come crawling back to that one other competitor that I told no because of price and lead time.

I will tell everyone this, if you want a good door for a good price, go ahead and proceed with the order from Home Depot, but give yourself an extra 4-8 weeks from the promised date. Not to mention, shouldn't Feather River pay my gas bill this winter since I ordered doors to be in place before the cold hit? Yes, but I doubt they'll even care, because that seems to be the attitude they've taken in regards to getting my doors out of the plant.

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Made good on a problem

Posted by Martin on 03/29/2014

Rating: 4/51

TACOMA, WASHINGTON -- Yesterday I posted about a problem I was having with the Feather River front doors I purchased through Home Depot. At the time of the posting I had been told by the Feather River Warranty Department that the warranty on my doors had been voided because the one side was off by ¼”. After hearing this needless to say my blood began to boil.

I systematically went through all of the issues trying to be just factual an unemotional. I also sent a copy of the posting to the manufacturer. I am happy to report that yesterday evening I received a call from a manager at Feather River who informed me that not only will they honor the warranty but they are going to send a complete new replacement unit.

I know this will still cost me a few hundred dollars to have them installed. To be assured that they will be installed per the factory recommendations I am going to pay Home Depot to do the installation.

I am extremely pleased that this American manufacturer has stood behind their product and is trying to rectify what was a bad situation.

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Paint on These Doors in Junk

Posted by Cory on 03/05/2013

Rating: 2/51

QUINCY, ILLINOIS -- Purchased a custom set of Double Entry Feather River Doors painted Blue from Home Depot. Took 3 weeks to build ( 1 week of Custom BAKED ON BLUE PAINT PROCESS Extra $300.00) When I went to pick up doors I noticed several places where the original white paint on door was showing through, as well as where Home Depot had gently set it up against counter. and they really did set it gently I watched them. I told and pointed out the white showing through. There answer "We will give you a discount on a matching touch-up paint". Ummmm No I paid to have a custom paint job done by feather river. So I told them I would like to have a new set or something. As we moved them off the counter, There was a dent/ scrap in the door where it just barely was leaned against the counter!! 1 Week baked on paint for $300.00. Ha Ha, so long story short, sent doors back. went to go pick up new doors yesterday. To realize Feather River used touch up paint on the doors and shipped them back to Home Depot/Me (Touch Up bottle was laying against the door in wrap and clearly had been opened and used! Couldn't even send me a new bottle. Not a bad thing except the dent where they leaned against counter prior pick up, was clearly visible and paint seemed not to match in that spot. My biggest complaint about this Door company is that They hype up there paint process so much only to send me a touch-up bottle because apparently they don't even believe in there craftsmanship!!! Story will have a part 2 as I am waiting to hear back from Feather River

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No Quality Control!

Posted by M. on 01/20/2013

Rating: 2/51

I ordered two exterior doors through Home Depot, with whom I had just had an excellent experience with a kitchen renovation. I read the mixed reviews, but all brands seemed to have them.

The doors came in and one was just fine. The other had a deep gouge in it. The second door that came to replace it also had scratches. Finally, 5 months later, the third door had only a minor painting lapse on the inside edge, so I accepted it.

I would NEVER buy this door again, although I like the doors a lot now that they are installed.